Malaysian national team falls victim to FIFA sanctions hoax over naturalization

The Malaysian national team has become the target of fake news claiming that the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) received FIFA sanctions — allegations that emerged regarding their player naturalization program.

FAM’s large naturalization program for the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifications brought several new players to coach Peter Cklamovski’s squad this June.

New naturalized players who joined:

• Facundo Garces
• Imanol Machuca
• Rodrigo Holgado
• Joao Figuiredo
• Gabriel Arrocha

They join previous naturalized players like Hector Hevel, Dion Cools, and Endrick dos Santos — a program that subsequently triggered hoax news from an Indonesian media outlet about FIFA sanctions against FAM.